Combined Fleet

The Combined Fleet was the main ocean-going component of the Imperial Japanese Navy, existing from 1894 to 1945. The fleet was not a permanent force until World War II, when it was fully mobilized to fight the American threat across the Pacific Ocean. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto led the Combined Fleet to several victories from 1941 until his assassination in 1943, and the losses in the Solomon Islands led to the fleet being divided into "area fleets". The Combined Fleet was decimated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in late 1944, and the destruction of battleship Yamato on 7 April 1945 marked the end of the Japanese navy.